Submitted to: Association For The Advancement Of Industrial Crops Conference
Publication Acceptance Date: June 24, 2004
Publication Date: September 23, 2004
Citation: Cermak, S.C., Isbell, T. 2004. Bio-Based Fluids From Lesquerella And Castor. Association For The Advancement Of Industrial Crops Conference.

Technical Abstract: Lesquerella fendleri is a member of the genus Lesquerella of the Brassicaceae (mustard) family. Lesquerella is a developing oil seed crop currently grown in the Southwestern U.S, 40 acres in 2003. The oil is very attractive due to high levels (53%) of the hydroxy fatty acid, 14-hydroxy-cis-11-eicosenoic acid (lesquerolic acid). Estolides derived from lesquerella and castor 2-ethylhexyl esters with different saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were synthesized. The unsaturated fatty acids included both plant and animal sources which demonstrated the potential diversity of fatty acids suitable as starting materials for the synthesis of estolides and their impact on the resulting lubricant physical properties. The synthesis of lubricants from natural sources will lessen the demand for foreign imported oils. However, poor cold temperature properties are one of the traditional problems with vegetable oils. However, with the addition of additives these properties can sometimes be improved. These new estolides produced a series of functional fluids with excellent cold temperature properties having pour points <-53 deg C. These new estolides have been designed to meet the demands of cold weather without the use of additives. Synthesis of estolides from the fatty esters will be discussed as well as their physical properties, which include pour and cloud points, viscosities, RBOTs and colors. Comparisons will be made to other estolide technologies and commercially available materials.